by Robele Ababya, 26 October 2012
I chose to start writing this peace with this quotation by Thomas Jefferson: “Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty”. I chose it because liberty cannot be guaranteed to the vast majority of humankind as long as merciless dictators with lust for power exist on our planet. I submit that the struggle to defeat tyranny must be continuous.
Thomas Jefferson was: one of the Founding Fathers of the USA; the principal author of the Declaration of Independence;
and the 3rdPresident of the United States. Benjamin Franklin was also one of the Founding Fathers of the United States; the famous quote: “Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God” was in 1976 suggested by him to appear on the reverse side of the Great Seal of the USA so that it would echo the Declaration of Independence. I ask the present US leaders whether they still uphold the ideals of the Founding Fathers enshrined in the Constitution of the United States of America
and the 3rdPresident of the United States. Benjamin Franklin was also one of the Founding Fathers of the United States; the famous quote: “Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God” was in 1976 suggested by him to appear on the reverse side of the Great Seal of the USA so that it would echo the Declaration of Independence. I ask the present US leaders whether they still uphold the ideals of the Founding Fathers enshrined in the Constitution of the United States of America
So my fellow Ethiopians, liberty comes and then kept at a hefty price paid for incessantly, more so now that the new ‘do-as-told’ Prime Minister of Ethiopia, inter alia: (1) has clearly, arrogantly and defiantly declared repeatedly that the policy of his notorious predecessor shall continue intact; (2) has ignored earnest calls for the release of all political prisoners and relax the political space; is denying the constitutional right of freedom of expression. Does he, as a professed Christian, understand the grief, despair and agony that this beautiful Ethiopian young lady in picture had suffered under the tyrannical rule of his predecessor?
There is no doubt that he obeyed the orders of Bereket Simeon and other atheists in the TPLF to dictatorship to authorize the Federal Police to carry out the outrageous killing of innocent Muslims in Wollo appealing for the respect of their constitutional rights. This act of savagery signals dark days of tyranny ahead in the process of implementing Zenawi’s 40 years of homework for TPLF of which the President of Tigray Abay Woldu spoke (vide the paragraph under the caption below). Are the Ethiopian people and opposition democratic forces going to tolerate tyranny for that long? Are we going to let the TPLF nurture and grow the seed of intra-ethnic and inter-ethnic hatred sown by the late tyrant? I think not at all and predict the end of the EPRDF is in sight.
Abay Woldu’s homework
The President of Tigray Abay Woldu in his speech after becoming also the Chairman of the TPLF Stalinist party replacing the dead boss of its founder said in his speech to the people of Tigray that their ‘Great Leader’ has given them forty (40) years of homework. It was clear from his speech that Abay meant holistic implementation of the ideology, policy, strategy and plans authored, approved and put in place by Zenawi. He seems to be under the illusion that Tigray as the epicenter of communist power is by right of legacy the custodian of that ideology.
Axum is the citadel of the Ethiopian Judo-Christian civilization and later joined by Islam thus making our country a unique land of harmonious abode of the Judaic, Christian and Islamic faiths for centuries. It is a bizarre twist of history that radical communists sprung from Tigray with the vicious intent to upset and ruin the enviable harmonious relationship bound by the belief in one creator of the universe in order to substitute it with atheist Marxist- Leninist- Stalinist-Maoist ideology. This is one of the legacies left behind by the late Zenawi buried at the holy grounds of the St. Trinity Cathedral – a decision in and of itself a hot controversial issue awaiting resolution.
Cry for leaders in the 21st century
In one of my articles I recall writing that “A leader is one with a vision of where people want to go but they won’t do it alone without the leader”. It is widely agreed that people in this age of information in the 21st century are equipped with the knowledge of identifying able leaders and exercising their rights to elect them to positions of power whether in government or private enterprises.
The people as: the only single source of political power have the right to hold those elected to public scrutiny and strict accountability; the only source of political power have the right to identify and vote for democratically-minded leaders with vision and proven ability in a free and fair election.
Unfortunately dictatorship will continue to be an impediment in post Zenawi Ethiopia where the literacy rate is 28% ranking the country as 182nd out of 184 nations. Incidentally the rate was 60% literacy during the Derg era for which the regime received international accolade.
The TPLF power behind the new Prime Minister (PM) has successfully converted him into a clone of his former boss in that not only did the new PM underline that there shall be no change in policy but also tried to act as an incarnate of his master. This is a shameful but nevertheless a clever devious drama that only a devil can conceive, refine and implement. The PM and the driving force behind him are under the illusion that the legacy of their boss including ideology, policy, strategy and plans will continue undiminished and that the masses have the sole duty to listen to the massive state propaganda and obey the diktat of the party.
Exemplary Ladies fighting for freedom
The news of the recent assassination attempt on the 14 year Pakistani girl, Malala Yousufzai, propagated like a shockwave on our globe causing a state of anger and outpouring sympathy for the victim of a Taliban extremist opposed to modern civilization, enlightenment, freedom of expression and above all the right of women to education. The savage act deserved the description “The War Against Intellectual Freedom”, a theme of common concern to humanity as demonstrated by the mammoth vehement condemnation emanating from all corners of our world. The news of the recovery of the lass is most welcome and the award of bravery she has received from the government is wonderful and the campaign for her candidature for Nobel Peace prize spearheaded by celebrities including Angelina Jolie is a mortal blow to extremists everywhere – including the leaders of TPLF who created the Al Shabab by their naked aggression of Somalia.
Malala spoke in defense of moral and legal rights of girls enshrined in the Universal Declaration of the United Nations and became a towering champion of those rights. This is a shining example of women fighting for their rights everywhere because they are grossly disadvantaged in our global village.
On our side, the emergence of ladies leaders like Asayesh Tamiru is inspiring. In her interview with the remarkably seasoned journalist, Sissay Agena, on the highly esteemed ESAT Radio, she made me exceedingly proud of her tenacity to expose the gross injustices that were being perpetrated in Ethiopia for the last 21 years of TPLF. Her resounding success after 18 years of persistent attempts to convince and win to her side the initially stubborn German Lawmakers and taxpayers is a spectacular distinction of her great leadership quality. Her clarion call for more work to be done in order to replace injustice so far fostered by the TPLF regime was so clearly and powerfully made for all of us men and women to heed and implement vigorously.
I heard the news with utmost pleasure that the invincible Reeyot Alemu was awarded the “2012 Courage in Journalism” Prize by International Women’s Media Foundation. I extend to her my sincere congratulations from the depth of my heart.
The quest for freedom, dignity, democracy and prosperity is shared universal value of humanity. Bravo ladies! You will emerge victorious in your just struggle.
Lesson from current demographic
According to the CIA World Factbook the population of Ethiopia was 93,815,992 (July 2012 est.) with demographic as follows:-
Ethnicity: Oromo 34.5%, Amara 26.9%, Somalie 6.2%, Tigraway 6.1%, Sidama 4%, Guragie 2.5%, Welaita 2.3%, Hadiya 1.7%, Affar 1.7%, Gamo 1.5%, Gedeo 1.3%, other 11.3% (2007 Census)
Religions: Orthodox 43.5%, Muslim 33.9%, Protestant 18.6%, traditional 2.6%, Catholic 0.7%, other 0.7% (2007 Census)
Languages: Amarigna (Amharic) (official) 32.7%, Oromigna (official regional) 31.6%, Tigrigna (official regional) 6.1%, Somaligna 6%, Guaragigna 3.5%, Sidamigna 3.5%, Hadiyigna 1.7%, other 14.8%, English (official) (major foreign language taught in schools), Arabic (official) (1994 census)
For the purpose of this article I have derived the following classification:-
1. The Big-3 groups according to religion that have decisive impact on the Ethiopian society are in shown below:-
- Orthodox Tewahido: constitute 43.5% of the Ethiopian population
- Muslims : constitute 33.9% of the Ethiopian population
- Catholic and Protestants: constitute 18.6% of the Ethiopian population
Tigray with its population of 6.1% of the Ethiopian population is a bastion of Orthodox Christianity and is therefore subsumed in the Big-3 category. Sidama, Guragie, Welaita, and Hadia most probably fall within Orthodox (Guragie in particular) or in the Protestant. Most Somalis as Muslims are in this category.
2. The Big Two according to Ethnicity
- Oromos: constitute 34.5% of the Ethiopian population
- Amharas: constitute 26.9% of the Ethiopian population
3. The Big-2 according to language
- Amharigna 32.7% and
- Oromigna 31.6%
From the array of data and derivatives given under the section above it is logical to deduce that:-
- The potentially overwhelming combined force of Christians, Muslims, Oromos and Amharas is suppressed by the brutal TPLF/EPRDF regime. The senile, Sebhat Nega, architect and co-founder of MLLT, is hell bent on destroying Orthodox Tewahido Christianity and the Amharas. His claim is a crystal clear disclosure of the hidden agenda of his party to destroy Ethiopia. Triggering the aforementioned potential force into action will see the quick end of the few diehard communists within the top echelon of the TPLF that are desperately fighting for their survival.
- The Oromos and Amharas are dominant in each of the scenarios (1, 2, 3) presented above. This is the reason the TPLF warlords are scared to death of the two groups as demonstrated by distancing them from the inner-most core of power. It is to be recalled that Fascist Italy devised and perpetrated the policy which is now being religiously applied by the Stalinist communists within the TPLF.
- It would be a shame if opposition democratic forces fail to cease this moment of political turmoil – within the traditional cash cow of the TPLF in the Arab world – and the demise of arch communist Zenawi in order to engender the kind of a new regime that the Ethiopian people need so critically.
- Religious groups: Orthodox Tewahido Christians at 43.5 %; Muslims at 33.9% and; Protestants plus Catholics at 18.6 % amount to 96.0% of the Ethiopian population. The scared die-hard communists in the top leadership of TPLF hell bent on unconstitutional interference with religious affairs such as not allowing elections at Mosques. The same fate will come to other religions unless a united action is taken to dislodge the TPLF regime from power through massive civil disobedience.
In closing I would like to convey the sentiment of my highest esteem to ESAT and all pro-Ethiopia democratic websites for keeping the Ethiopian people informed.
God has done his part leaving to us what we can do. Ethiopians have their God and themselves to claim their natural right to be free and live in dignity. Let us invigorate the struggle at home!
LONG LIVE ETHIOPIA!!!
Stop the killing of the Ethiopian Muslims!
Release all political prisoners including Andualem Aragie, Eskinder Nega, and Reeyot Alemu et al
